A great escape was needed and that's what a Covid cautious group of us
basked in, Saturday out of Westport. We departed at daybreak and found the
bar "adventurous" as forewarned by Captain Phil. Fortunately for bird
viewing, the ride leveled out a few miles offshore. We had bright sunshine
and light winds the entire day. I'm sure many onboard shared my
interesting tanline from the mask that covered my ever smiling face.
Remember to reapply your sunblock north of your mask during your sunny
cruise!

The early part of the trip was per usual (trip totals in parenthesis) with
Common Murre (275 with 7 identified chicks) and Sooty Shearwater (4431)
sightings, eventually adding Pink-footed Shearwater (332) as we ventured
further west. Phalaropes were encountered often during the trip with Red
(82) better represented than Red-necked (41). Phalaropes can be tough to
differentiate at this time of the year in their basic plumage. We often
generalize and look for a uniformly gray back in the Red and a patterned
mix of black, gray and white in the Red-necked, but age and molt can
complicate this assumption. It's more reliable to focus on the size of the
bird and it's relative proportions. Red Phalarope is bigger, at least ¾"
longer than Red-necked, with longer wings and tail. Red Phalarope is
almost twice as heavy as Red-necked with a bulkier appearance overall
especially to its neck and chest. Red's stout, stubby bill is also a
definitive field mark, easily differentiated from Red-necked Phalarope's
long, thin "needle-like" bill. Red's bill is yellow toward the base if
good views are obtained.

During the day we got nice looks at South Polar Skua (2) and Pomarine
Jaeger (5) and less than desirable looks at Parasitic Jaeger (1) and
Sabine's Gull (2). Arctic Tern (2) showed at a distance for a few of us.
Black-footed Albatross (38) was regular and found in flight during our
voyage as well as stationary feeding on bycatch discharged from a fishing
vessel. Northern Fulmar (4) numbers were low but we got good looks at
those present. We had a great showing of Fork-tailed Storm-petrel with
several large rafts of birds present on the water, then taking off for
observation in flight.

The bird of the day award unanimously goes to Buller's Shearwater (37).
Solitary birds showed for us regularly throughout the trip, some passing
slowly near the bow or stern offering excellent viewing and photo
opportunities. If that wasn't magical enough, because I did say "slow" and
"Buller's Shearwater" in one sentence, we nearly doubled our trip numbers
when we encountered a raft of 17 resting Buller's on the water. As we
approached they stayed long enough for good looks and photos, then again
"slowly" lifted one after another and flew away enmass.

As memorable as the day was for its birds, it will always be remembered by
those who experienced it, for its sea mammals. As we continued to motor
west to our deep water chumming grounds, Captain Phil spotted some distant
dolphins approaching. We assumed they would be Pacific-white Sided
Dolphins, but as the space between us closed, Phil said they looked more
like Grampus, referring to the genus which includes only one species,
Risso's Dolphin. Risso's Dolphin is quite distinctive and at 12-13' is
large with a tall, falcate shaped dorsal fin. Their mostly gray backs show
extensive white scarring making each an individual work of modern art.
That "work" is thought to be done by other Risso's Dolphins and perhaps
their main prey item, squid. Risso's looks nothing like "Flipper", the
species most of us associate with the word dolphin. Risso's Dolphin has a
boxy melon (forehead) and virtually no beak (elongated "bottlenose"
containing teeth).

The pod joined us as we traveled and we estimated 50-60 individuals
including several obvious youngsters. As we are wont to do under such
fortunate circumstances, Captain Phil stopped the engine and we enjoyed
their company for quite some time. We watched them surface, heard them
breathe, marveled as one "tail-slapped" the water 3 times very close to the
boat, and joined in their joy as we witnessed several jumping high out of
the water. Just a phenomenal encounter we thought would be the highlight
of the trip, but as we continued watching we heard a cry from the bow that
added to the splendor, "Right Whale Dolphins!"

Incredibly about 7 Northern Right Whale Dolphins joined our dolphin-fest
offering great looks at their sleek, black, finless backs. Yet another
dolphin far removed from our vision of Flipper, it's quite slender with a
black dorsal surface and white below. The absence of the dorsal fin is a
diagnostic field mark for Right Whale Dolphin. They zipped by our bow a
few times and as quickly as they appeared, they made their exit. Shortly
thereafter, the Risso's began dispersing and we decided to continue on to
deeper waters. The chum stop didn't produce much, so we had our lunch and
headed back east.

On the way back we added Dall's Porpoise (4) to the epic mammal day. We
had good looks at the approaching characteristic "rooster tail" spray of
water and views above and below the water as they neared the boat.
Although certainly less numerous or spectacular, there were Humpback Whale
(4) sightings, mainly blows, but we got a good view of a back gliding by
with a fluke before the dive.

About 15 miles from shore those on the port side of the boat were treated
to a brief, but diagnostic view of Manx Shearwater. Our numbers were not
great for Cassin's Auklet (6) which seems to be elsewhere this year, but we
had excellent Rhinoceros Auklet numbers (109) with a large group awaiting
us just outside the jetty on our return.

I was joined on this much needed great escape by fellow spotters Bill
Tweit, Jim Danzenbaker, Captain Phil Anderson, Chris Anderson, and a Covid
small, but enthusiastic group of nature lovers who I thank for enhancing
the journey. If you're able to join us there are still some trips with
open spaces. Please check www.westportseabirds.com for the schedule,
prepare your spirit to be uplifted, and apply ample sunblock to avoid the
dreaded mask stripe!


Hope to sea you out there!


Cara Borre

Gig Harbor
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20200824/05e8ccf2/attachment.html>